To Guide people to gain wisdom through practice of mindfulness, based on Buddhist principles.

Thursday, November 18, 2010

Ignorance makes it almost impossible for us to see things clearly as they really are

Figure 1

Figure 2

In ordinary day to day life when we see something our instantaneous reaction is to respond with like, dislike or just a neutral feeling towards what we have seen. This will cause passion (craving) or dispassion (aversion) or neutral feelings towards the object or the person.

All of these events happen at a tremendous speed in ordinary life and we may only be aware of lingering likes and dislikes, when we see an object. However they are a series of events, dependently arisen that cannot be separately seen under ordinary circumstances to an untrained person. The main reason for this is our distorted perception of the reality. We see everything as permanent, satisfactory and self (Figure 1).

Now how do we see this process as separate events, step by step or with precise clarity? This is what we train during insight practice, the observation of these separate events with precise clarity.

However before insight practice begins we usually need to bring the mind to a state of one pointed concentration (samadhi) through a form of meditation. This is commonly done through breath meditation (Anapana Sati). This sets the stage for the insight practice or Vipassana practice.

Buddha said:

"But how does a monk know, how does a monk see, so that ignorance is abandoned and clear knowing arises?"

"There is the case, monk, where a monk has heard, 'All things are unworthy of attachment.' Having heard that all things are unworthy of attachment, he directly knows every thing. Directly knowing every thing, he comprehends every thing. Comprehending every thing, he sees all themes as something separate.

"He sees the eye as something separate. He sees forms as something separate. He sees eye-consciousness as something separate. He sees eye-contact as something separate. And whatever arises in dependence on eye-contact — experienced either as pleasure, as pain, or as neither-pleasure-nor-pain — that too he sees as something separate.

"He sees the ear as something separate...

"He sees the nose as something separate...

"He sees the tongue as something separate...

"He sees the body as something separate...

"He sees the intellect as something separate. He sees ideas as something separate. He sees intellect-consciousness as something separate. He sees intellect-contact as something separate. And whatever arises in dependence on intellect-contact — experienced either as pleasure, as pain, or as neither-pleasure-nor-pain — that too he sees as something separate.

"This is how a monk knows, this is how a monk sees, so that ignorance is abandoned and clear knowing arises."

In a another sutta Buddha shows us the way to contemplate on these, when we see these events as separate steps, dependently arisen. Although this is a very short sutta, this I think gives us the main clue of the method of getting rid of ignorance with insight meditation.

At Savatthi."Then a certain bhikkhu approached the Blessed One, paid homage to him, sat down to one side, and said to him:"Venerable sir, how should one know, how should one see, for ignorance to be abandoned and true knowledge to arise?""Bhikkhu, when one knows and sees the eye as impermanent, ignorance is abandoned and true knowledge arises. When one knows and sees forms (object) as impermanent. When one knows and sees as impermanent whatever feeling arises with eye-contact as condition - whether pleasant or painful or neither-painful-nor-pleasant (neutral) - ignorance is abandoned and true knowledge arises. When one knows and sees thus, bhikkhu, ignorance is abandoned and true knowledge arise." -Avijja Pahana Sutta - Abandoning Ignorance-translated by Bhikkhu Bodhi:SN 35.53

( The same applies to the other senses too)

The Figure 2 shows the possible points of action that can be applied to this model that help to get rid of ignorance. TheFoundations of Mindfulness: (Satipatthana Sutta), the contemplation of the body (kayanupassana), feeling (vedananupassana), mind (cittanupassana), and mental objects (dhammanupassana) which is shown in yellow bubbles in the flow chart. The contemplation of impermanence of the six senses and their respective stimuli is one of the main sections of the forth part of The Four Foundations of Mindfulness (dhammanupassana) is the key to abandon ignorance as said in sutta above. With wise attention (Yoniso manasikara), we can now contemplate onThe Three Characteristics (ti-lakkha.na), Impermanence (Anicca),Suffering or Unsatisfactoriness (dukkha) and Not-self or Insubstantiality (anattaa) and this is the is final common pathway of contemplation of insight.The ignorance and craving is completely destroyed after cutting through all the ten Fetters and by after ending of the Fermentations or Taints.

"Maha-satipatthana Sutta:The four foundations (focuses) mindfulness

(Also known as The Four Frames of Reference (DN 22, MN10)

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